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Georges Benjamin, M.D., executive director of the American Public Health Association, on January 30, 2013 addressed students, faculty and staff at the Ludcke Auditorium on UNE's Portland Campus on “Building Healthy Communities: A Pathway to Health Equity.”

The event was part of UNE’s annual celebration of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. who at one time said, “Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.”

For this to happen, Dr. Benjamin said the nation must demand accountability from all stakeholders including clinical practitioners, public health practitioners, business, media and the general public. He said leaders have a special responsibility as resource allocators and policy makers, improving health by creating safer communities where all people have access to places to buy healthy foods, and participate in healthy activities like walking.

The event was hosted by UNE's Office of Multicultural Affairs & Diversity and InterProfessional Education Collaborative.